The island’s biggest harbor was one of her favorite places to go. Every winter, she and her husband visited that magical island in the sun. The harbor to the west that faced the sound was the most fun. She loved to look at all the boats and feed the pelicans who seemed to have an innate sense about when the boats would arrive and fish scraps might be available. They flocked to the pier.
The island was surrounded by mangroves and there had only been one big harbor built. In the evenings during the warm winters, many of the seasonal visitors gathered at the harbor since it was one of the best places to watch the sunset.
Tonight, she had a special purpose to be at the harbor. She was boarding a dinner boat where she would meet her love. They would cruise around the island and she would get to luxuriate in his company for a few hours. As she boarded the boat, a wave of happiness enveloped her. Dinner was calamari and grouper and they thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful food and conversation.
As the boat pulled into the harbor, she turned to him but found herself alone. It had happened again. They had taken this cruise so often in past winters that she kept imagining he was with her, not only on the cruise but everywhere. She had lost him earlier that year and now she remembered. Being accompanied by memories, she supposed, was better than being alone.
Reading and studying whatever topic is of interest to me at the time.
Interacting with my two dogs.
Spending a little quality time with my husband.
Looking out the windows of my house at the countryside. We live in the country.
Spending a couple of hours writing on my work in progress.
Blogging and interacting with blogging friends.
Seeing or talking to any member of my rapidly dwindling family.
Talking to or spending time with close friends.
Listening to music. My tastes in music are wide-ranging.
Learning to play keyboards. I have been a pianist most of my life, but have never played electronic keyboards. But, I’m learning!
What brings me the most joy is just the sameness of the days. It makes me comfortable and secure in my world although I also like periods of adventure.
Good morning and welcome to my #weekendcoffeeshare #156! So glad to see so many of you. I have several kinds of brews waiting on you, so just help yourself. I am a tea drinker and don’t drink coffee, so there are a couple of nice teas as well. Grab a mug and have a seat and let’s catch up.
As many of you know, I am mostly retired. I find myself, just about every day, wondering how I ever found time to actually work. Even retired, it seems that almost every hour of the day is filled up with something. Most of it good. Some not as good and I’d rather not deal with that! Do any of you who are retired feel the same? That there isn’t enough time? There is so much left that I still want to do.
I have a lot of writing to do as well as reading. I’m trying to read all the classics along with some of the newer stuff. Some traveling, though not a lot, is on my mind too. There are still a few places I’d like to see, a little traveling that I have left to do. I would love to visit New Zealand. There are also only two European countries I haven’t seen. One is Switzerland and the other is Scotland. I especially want to go to the Scottish Highlands since one half of my DNA comes straight from there., Another fourth of my DNA comes from the Hebrides Islands off the west coast of Scotland. The last fourth is from Sweden and I have traveled there several times. I still have cousins in both Scotland and Sweden who I would love to meet in person. I don’t know if I’ll be able to travel to any of these places in the coming years, but I certainly hope so. Where would you like to go on your travels?
Scottish Highlands
Stockholm, Sweden
Isle of Lewis, Scotland
My ancestors came from each of these places.
A funny story. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s mother emigrated from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland to America.
Do any of you engage in genealogical research when you aren’t writing? I have worked on my genealogy off and on since I was 18 years old. I’m interested in exploring so many of my family lines. I’ve developed family trees for my paternal grandfather’s line (Sweden) and my maternal grandfather’s line (Scotland). My maternal grandfather’s ancestors were in America before the Revolutionary War that split the U.S. from Great Britain.
My paternal grandfather’s family were new immigrants in the early 20th century, immigrating from Sweden to the state of Michigan in the U.S.; northern Michigan to be precise.
Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park in the Upper Peninsula of MIchigan, US.
Other than dreaming about traveling and writing, my week has been pretty quiet. Unfortunately, I’m dealing with some illness in my family and am consumed with concern and involvement with that. It’s one of the disturbing things about getting older. Family and friends start to get sick.
If you are ever curious about the state of Kentucky in the U.S., I have a book for you. One of the things Kentucky is known for is thoroughbred horse breeding and racing. We are only a few miles from the Bluegrass region of Kentucky where the limestone in the ground turns the grass blue in the spring. It is particularly good for horses. The horse industry has thrived here since the 1700s. I am reading a wonderful book depicting the history of the horse industry in Kentucky set in a wonderful story. The book is called “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks. I highly recommend it. What are you reading?
Thank you for joining my #weekendcoffeeshare. It’s been wonderful to see and spend time with all of you. Have a great upcoming week!
They thought they had concocted the perfect plan. The smaller of the two men, Dave, was a hot air balloon enthusiast and entered the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA almost every year. His partner in crime, Bill, was just along for the ride and had helped Dave transport the stolen gold bars as far as the balloon festival.
The balloon fiesta was in the fall of the year in warm, dry New Mexico. As Dave and Bill approached the venue, the skies were blue and there was a slight breeze. Dave’s balloon was already secured there, deflated, but ready to be aired up. Dave had made plans to steal the gold bars and then transport them to his secret place in Mexico using his balloon.
Dave had stolen the gold from his supervisor’s home vault while she was on vacation. He had lucked into finding the combination for the vault by hacking her laptop.
They aired up the balloon and gradually loaded the gold bars into the wicker basket. Then, they were off. Dave thought the balloon was a bit sluggish as it tried to get off the ground, but he blamed the calm wind. The balloon gradually rose, but slowly and not to the height that Dave expected. As the wind further calmed, Dave became alarmed since the balloon started losing altitude. Dave suddenly realized the problem was the weight of the gold.
Below the balloon, they could see the Rio Grande River. The balloon was falling rapidly no matter how much hot air Dave pumped into it. It slowed and plunked down right in the middle of a shallow in the river. When Dave and Bill looked up, there was the Border Patrol on horseback on the bank, just waiting for them.
Today we took a short trip, really just an afternoon trip, primarily to spend some time outdoors with Sophie, my German Shepherd dog. Sophie is the most wonderful companion. Smart, well-behaved, curious. Everything you want a dog to be. She was, unbelievably, a rescue. She’s around two years old, perhaps two and a half and we really don’t know her story. But, when she came to us, she was perfectly trained although she had been passed from person to person all of her young life due to a divorce in her initial family.
We try to get Sophie out in the world fairly often. She has a lot of space at my house, but German Shepherds are smart, curious and easily bored. Kentucky has a wonderful system of state parks and we spend time at various parks to give Sophie some richness of experience. She also gets a hamburger and some ice cream!
Our adventure today was to Carter Caves State Park which is about 20 miles from my home. It’s in one of many of the cave areas in the state of Kentucky. Most of the underlying rock in Kentucky is limestone and over eons of time, caves have been carved into the limestone. In this state park, the caves are fairly small compared to other cave areas and have, for the most part, been closed due to a disease that is plaguing the bat population in the eastern United States. Even in the summer, there is no exploration of the caves allowed. When I was growing up nearby, the caves were all open for exploration.
There is still a lot to enjoy at this Kentucky State Park for avid outdoors people. Lots of hiking and backpacking, a nice campground for RV camping, and a beautiful lake for fishermen surrounded by heavy hardwood forest. There is a nice restaurant, good southern U.S. cooking and a lodge.
Sophie didn’t go there for any of that! She needed an outing and she loves to ride in the Jeep and go to new outdoorsy places. She had a blast today. Rock climbing, smelling lots of new things, getting her feet wet in the beautiful creek, sniffing at the entrances of the caves. We walked most of the afternoon until we were all ready to head back to the Jeep. Sophie (and I) will sleep well tonight.
The trip from the U.S. to Rome was relatively uneventful, but very long. Eight hours from Philadelphia to Rome. I discovered that I don’t fly well anymore. Planes are now so cramped and such close quarters. But, on to more pleasant things. We made our way from the Rome airport to the port where we would board our cruise ship. Rome has a Mediterranean climate and all along the way were small, country homes and every one had a garden. I think that struck me because kitchen gardening is becoming less and less common in the US. The scenery was beautiful. Palm trees and small homes with gardens all along the way. The photo above was taken the first time I looked out the window at the Mediterranean. You can see the tug boat pulling away from the cruise ship. The water was aqua, though it looks blue here.
We boarded our cruise ship, the Oceania Marina. Quite large and with all the amenities. It was filled with university alumni from many major universities, but passengers also included private passengers and other types of tour groups including a large group from Korea and another from the Philippines. Our stateroom was large with a big balcony. It was evening and we had a delicious dinner in one of the many restaurants onboard. Food was strictly European which was not so good for me. I eat a low-carb diet and the very generous buffets were filled with high-carb foods. I had resolved to eat what I wanted on this trip. I found that my taste in food has apparently changed permanently. I have been eating low carb for many years. None of the high carb foods appealed to me at all.
Bedtime came early for us that night. The ship left Rome around 7 p.m. to sail up the coast of Italy. One of the things we grew to dislike about the cruise was the fact we always sailed at night. We wished we had sailed during the day for at least a couple of days so we could see he coasts of the countries we visited. But it was not to be. By nightfall, it was chilly outside and raining, weather that would persist for most of the week.
This island is a wild and beautiful place. It’s also a place where one has to be careful because it is home to interesting wildlife. A virtual zoo. Some live only in the tropics. Some live out on this island because they feel safe and, for the most part, they are. Since we share the island with them, we have to be sure we are safe as well. We also have to make sure our pets are safe. I would guess that the majority of people who live on the island have a dog and so do the majority of tourists. People who come to my island and who live here have to remember that we are, indeed, in the tropics.
During the last few days, there have been wildlife sightings, not just on the island but in the development where I live. Very close to my home. In the case of the dangerous wildlife, like alligators, the management tries to keep them out. Alligators are a part of life this far south in Florida. We have three small lakes, perhaps ponds, Today, an alligator was sighted in one of them, slithering into the water. Even though I’ve always known alligators are here, I’ve never seen one on the island. There’s a first time for everything!
This island is a nesting spot for the bald eagle. I love to watch them nesting in the fall to have their babies in the early spring. One has to remember that they can be dangerous. If you are walking a small dog, they have no problem swooping down and picking it up. There is a nesting pair in a tall evergreen tree in my yard. I’ll be guarding Hanna, my small dog of about 25 pounds, when we go for walks.
In the last few days, a bobcat has been spotted at night in the back of the development. I’m used to bobcats since my home is in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky and I’ve heard them scream in the trees in my backyard. But, I don’t particularly want to encounter one when I’m walking Hanna at night. To complicate matters, the management of the development says that coyotes are encroaching on our development. Suddenly, island wildlife has decided to live right here with me.
Life is never boring on this beautiful island. Any ideas on how to walk Hanna after dark? 🙂
Good morning, Pine Island! Good morning to my readers! I was lucky enough to get the most beautiful sunrise photos over the Matlacha Bay on Pine Island this morning. Enjoy!
When I went in search of a Pine Island sunrise, I found fog, but I also found a gem of a tiny park in the community of Matlacha. This park is called Bat House Park and you can see the Bat House and plaque in these pictures. There are also a few benches, a small number of parking places, and an awesome place to fish in Matlacha Bay.
This bat house is for the Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat which can eat up to 3,000 insects each in a night. It’s located at the base of the “fishingest bridge in the world” and is a great use of a tiny pocket of land.
Do you see the images out there in the fog? Those are shrimp boats in the Matlacha, FL harbor. When I looked at this scene, my thought was “the ghost ships of Matlacha,” but they are not ghosts. They are real fishing boats. I took this picture yesterday morning, through the fog. I had come to Matlacha to take a picture of the sunrise, but it was socked in with fog.
Matlacha is a tiny village adjacent to Pine Island. It was a commercial fishing village turned, now, into an artist’s colony. It is a collection of neon-colored buildings housing art galleries and great restaurants. It’s very much an “old Florida” place and is only one of the villages in the Pine Island complex. I love many of the restaurants in Matlacha and will feature them in this blog as I visit them. Even though there isn’t as much commercial fishing in Matlacha as in the past, the industry still exists there as you can see by the shrimp boats in the fog.
Today, I plan to visit the Island Seafood Market in Matlacha where many of the fishing boats come in for the night. They have some of the best, fresh seafood in the late afternoon that I’ve ever eaten, after the fishing boats unload their fare. The staff is extremely knowledgeable about the seafood and can even tell the novices about preparation. I’ll let you know what I buy and have for dinner in this blog tomorrow!
We had fog yesterday and today. It’s odd for my beautiful island, although it happens occasionally at this time of year. I’m looking forward to the fog clearing so I can go to Matlacha in the early morning and photograph the sunrise, which is as beautiful on Pine Island as the sunset.
Today is a beautiful sunny day on Pine Island. We are trying to figure out what to do about our failing A/C and refrigerator. I’m still trying to unpack and will complete that task today. I also hope to get to the Bokeelia pier to get a new sunset picture in the late afternoon. I have an appointment in Ft. Myers today.
All of this means that I will probably not have time to write until evening. I am a little behind with my word count for NaNoWriMo, but not much. I hope to catch up tonight.
I’m trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I’ll be here for 5-6 months. That’s a long time to be away. So I’m taking some time to make my place on my island in the sun home.
The Write Scribe 